CHAPTER 9

                The moment Dahyun sat down on the car seat of Mina’s car, she sighed heavily. “I’m hoping for good news, don’t just sigh on me.” The older girl giggled, pressing the gas pedal. The car started to move at a steady speed, navigating through the narrow street of the residence. “I’m sure she’ll come home.” Dahyun stated, looking back at the moment when Sana’s eyes finally met hers. Similar to Sana when they parted, Dahyun found herself putting on a small smile and looking out the window. They were driving across a bridge, a breathtaking night view of Osaka visible along the horizon. “Do you want to go out for dinner and talk? I can text Momo for you.” Mina suddenly offered. Dahyun tilted her head at the girl and met her gaze on the rear view mirror with shy eyes. “A-Ah, sure, I’ll pay.” Dahyun said, bringing out her phone to call Momo. “No need. You’re the visitor to Osaka, let me show you how nice it is here. I’m sure Momo’s still meeting with that Lisa woman, anyway.”

            Dahyun hesitated at first, but nodded shyly, as the other girl was assertive and insisted too strongly. It was still raining, and it was chilly inside the car. Dahyun grabbed the edges of Sana’s jacket and cuddles up deeper into it. A waft of the girl’s scent swept up her ear and took her by surprise. She still smells like spring. Dahyun thought, blushing as she thinks about the way she sniffed Sana’s neck when they were huddled up in bed on a lazy weekend afternoon. “Could you grab my phone from my handbag? I need to notify Sana’s mom, I don’t want her worrying too much.” Mina interrupted. Dahyun had to regain her composure from falling weak to Sana’s familiar scent before reaching down to Mina’s handbag. Her phone wasn’t too deep into the bag, but she still took caution. For all she knows, she might destroy something that cost a thousand dollars. She can never predict rich people. Dahyun handed Mina the phone.

            Mina proceeded to speak to her phone. “Lovely, dial Mrs. Minatozaki.” Dahyun squinted her eyes. “Your phone’s AI is named Lovely?” She giggled. Mina stuck her tongue out. “I think it’s cute.” The phone pinged and dialed the contact. Mrs. Minatozaki picked up just a few seconds after it rung. She must be really worried. Dahyun thought, feeling bad that her mom had to put up with her reckless decisions. “We found her and talked to her, Auntie… Yes…I’ll make sure she’ll come home tomorrow.” Mina replied between brief pauses, that of which Dahyun could hear the faint sound of Sana’s mother through the phone. Dropping the call, Mina places her phone in the compartment in the middle of the car and turned right to a street. The road was sprinkled with both small and bigger restaurants. Some food stalls were found here and there, but there were several buildings that held the name of five-star fine dining restaurants. “Woah…” Dahyun was clearly amused. Mina took note of this and smiled. “It’s better to have a serious discussion over good food.” She joked, but Dahyun suddenly gulped and looked at Mina with nervous eyes. It didn’t translate over to her as a joke. “Hey, I was kidding. It’s not like I’m going to threaten you?” Mina was laughing, all while Dahyun was on the edge of her seat. The younger girl giggled, still being nervous.

            Mina pulled up in a roofed parking lot of a fancy restaurant and exited the vehicle as she grabbed her purse. Dahyun did the same. A cold chill blew and Mina shivered, ushering Dahyun into the restaurant to get close to a heater. “Why’d I have to wear such a short dress in a cold night…” Mina complained, sighing in relief the moment they stepped into the restaurant. “Welcome back, Ms. Myoui.” The receptionist greeted with a respectful bow. Mina bowed back.

            “You go here often?” Dahyun asked. Mina nodded. “Table for two, please.” Mina requested, and the waitress nodded, leading them both to a table near a heater, which Mina thanked them for. Dahyun sat down as Mina patted off her lap. “How’d you meet Sana?” The older girl suddenly asked. Oh no… Dahyun already saw the barrage of questions coming from a mile away, but she still hasn’t prepared answers. “We were schoolmates back in Korea. I was her junior, but she had me boosted through a scholarship program so we graduated at the same time.” Dahyun explained, trying her best not to crack up from remembering their past. Mina called over a waiter before she responded. “Ah… So you were the scholarship student.” Mina somehow had this look… this pity. Dahyun furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What is it?”

            “Nevermind.” Mina waved it off and grinned, but inside, she felt incredibly bad for the younger girl. She has only heard snippets of the story from Sana’s father when he drank with her parents, but she never knew how cruel Mr. Minatozaki actually was to Sana. The waiter from before came over with two sets of menus, handing them to the both of them. Dahyun opened the menu and widened her eyes. This food costs more than our entire café back home. She gulped and tried to scan for something cheap. “Nothing’s cheap…” Dahyun murmured below her breath as she continued to search for something. Thankfully, Mina didn’t hear as she was preoccupied with choosing food. “I recommend their Teppanyaki.” She said to the younger girl over the table. That said, Dahyun looked for the Teppanyaki. As if her eyes couldn’t widen enough, her eyes stretched wider. That’s the most expensive thing on the menu, though?! “One order of pork belly, please. What are you having, Dahyun?”

            Dahyun panicked and spotted the cheapest item she could find. “A small portion of Miso Soup, please.” A deep silence came from Mina. “Get her your signature Beef Rib Teppanyaki, please.” She said, and the waitress nodded. Dahyun didn’t have the chance to protest, at all. “T-Thank you, but you didn’t have to.” She said shyly and pouted. She could curse herself at how awkward she was being. “Nonsense. Ease up, I’m not here to extort information out of you. I don’t hate you, Dahyun. I don’t think I need to clarify that even further.” The woman’s voice was gentle, yet absolute. The younger girl was convinced, and her anxiety eased down a level. She inhaled deeply, attempting to muster up her courage in telling her side of the story.

            “We met when we bumped into each other in a hallway, and I spilled chocolate milk on her blouse. It seemed like she didn’t have any friends because she just transferred, so I offered to be her friend to make up for my mistake. I never knew who she was, I wasn’t aware of her status until we got closer.” Dahyun started to tell their story. “I always passed by her classroom everyday to check on how she’s doing. People were always talking about her because of how pretty and rich she was. She never interacted with anybody else, though. It was adorable how she wanted to make friends but she never knew how to approach to other people or respond to them when they invite her out.” Dahyun had this melancholic smile as she looked back at the young, naïve Sana she knew two years ago. So much warmer, so much more compassionate. “Eventually, she suddenly told me that she applied me for a scholarship and that I got accepted to be accelerated to her year. I thought she was just trolling, until the headmaster called me to his office and told me that I was going to be studying on her year level and sharing a dorm with her.” Mina was somehow enjoying the story. It made her think about Sana before Korea happened. Her friend was bright, and she could still look up and smile. Sure, her father wasn’t the greatest figure to live with, but she was still hopeful back then. Human. “Until we fell in love.” Dahyun finally said. “It felt like spring after a long, harsh, blizzard to her. At least that was how she described it to me.” She never really figured out why, since Sana never took the time to discuss her past with Dahyun. The latter chose not to mind, since it seems to put Sana in a place of anxiety whenever she brought it up. All she wanted was for the girl to be happy and to live their lives together.

            “…When are you planning to tell Momo?”  Mina interrupted. Dahyun’s soft smile bent into a frown, her anxiety settling in. She didn’t feel right about her feelings at all. She looked at the ring on her finger intently. “I don’t know.” Dahyun admitted. This brought dismay to the older girl. “You probably should. You seem like a nice person, but Momo is my friend the same way Sana is. I’m not going to let you betray Momo to make Sana happy.” Min